Windy Tales | complete

This has to be one of the most beautiful anime ever created.
The artstyle is refreshingly unique, and as I’ve said in the notelog, though it’s quite heavily stylised, the character designs have a realism to them that is rare in anime; the characters actually look Japanese, and many facial features and body-shapes are quite realistic.

Windy Tales is an extremely subtle presentation. Those looking for an overt and obvious story-arc should look elsewhere, like many shoujo series, Windy Tales is more about the characters’ everyday lives and the ways in which they appreciate the subtle beauty of all life. The element of magical wind powers is also an extremely subtle one, something that is deeply symbolic of the characters’ emotions, as magic often is in anime like this; I’m reminded of Someday’s Dreamers. It also builds the slightly surreal side of the atmosphere, which also is healthily helped along by the adorable Kaze Neko (Wind Cats) that often appear.

The atmosphere of Windy Tales is one of the warmest ever created, and watching it inspires so many positive emotions. Every character is endearing, especially the rarely seen Taiki-sensei and Yukio, and every location is wonderfully created.

I also must say that Kenji Kawaii has done an amazing job with the soundtrack, it is one of the best ever created. Like the anime, it’s quite serene and warm, yet another part of the peaceful atmosphere of the anime. Also on the production side of things, it’s probably healthy to note that the production was created by Production I.G. was supervised by none other than Mamoru Oshii, which would be why Kawaii did the soundtrack.

Windy Tales is a rarity, but there seem to be a number of anime creators taking up this very simple kind of portrayal of life, I hesitate to even call it storytelling, as there isn’t a core narrative to speak of, something I love more and more as I encounter it more often. Certainly the second season of Aria is encouraging, especially as it’s to be 26 episodes long. I’ve pre-ordered the Windy Tales soundtrack and can’t wait for its arrival.

It definitely is a grand day for Japanese animation.